Island of Time, page 23
The crimson silt made such a soft pillow for his head.
FIFTY-FOUR
Jackson came to momentarily when they loaded him on to the ambulance. He was drawn from the black depths by Krys, strident even when wounded. She insisted on being allowed to journey in his vehicle. Then the medic inserted a needle into Jackson’s arm and flooded his system with an icy salve. As he drifted away that second time, Jackson realized he was in a lot of pain.
Awareness came and went in fleeting snatches. Jackson could not be certain he woke at all. Perhaps his dreams merely knitted together in some coherent fashion. Twice he thought he heard Krys and Simeon talking, and he wondered why Luca did not respond. The blind man’s absence troubled him, though he could not piece together a reason.
He woke for certain when a bright light shone directly into his face and a coldly officious voice demanded in French, ‘This one also has no papers?’
‘Destroyed in the assault on his home,’ he heard Simeon reply. ‘A tragedy.’
‘Tragic. Yes. Even more so if they bring their danger and destruction into France.’
‘Which is why I accompany them,’ Simeon replied. ‘To assure you this is not the case.’
‘Forgive me for questioning your judgment, Monsieur—’
‘Detective.’
‘But you are Swiss, and this is France, yes? And we have been alerted to the battle on the lake’s southern rim. What is more, we saw it. Here. In Divonne. The attack lit up our sky.’
But Simeon kept his cool. ‘The former despot of Benin resides two houses east of Monsieur Burnett’s former residence. The citizens of Benin, as you are no doubt aware, were cruelly oppressed. The International Courts of Justice issued an arrest warrant for this former ruler, on the grounds that he used outlawed magic on his own populace.’
‘And now he whiles away his days on the shores of Lake Geneva,’ the customs officer sneered.
‘Indeed so. Another tragedy. But we were speaking of these innocent victims. My country has no doctors who have specialized in the healing of magical wounds. The Divonne Clinic has a worldwide reputation—’
‘Yes, yes, I am well aware of all this.’
‘And the clinic has alerted you to our arrival, no? So if you will be so kind as to stamp my papers and lift your barrier, we will endeavor to save these lives while there is still time.’
When Jackson next awoke, he lay in a hospital bed. What he could see of the room showed expensive furnishings. A spray of orchids stood in a stylish vase on the table to his right. Simeon sat in a leather chair, reading from a file bearing the official Swiss seal. The drapes to his window were pulled open, revealing a darkened window. Jackson licked dry lips and asked, ‘What time is it?’
‘A quarter past nine.’ Simeon held the cup while Jackson sucked on the straw, then set it down and said, ‘Your partner’s burns were treated and her ribs were taped. She was here until a moment ago. She claims you saved her life, by the way. How are you, my friend?’
‘Sore.’
‘Then you have come to the right place. I am assured by the doctors that their assorted pain remedies are unrivaled. Shall I call someone?’
‘Later.’
‘I have been told you will make a full recovery. But you lost a considerable amount of blood, so you will need to take it easy—’
‘You might as well say it.’ When Simeon did not reply, Jackson pressed, ‘You’re not sitting here just to make sure I get all the meds I want.’
Simeon made a process of closing the file. ‘Luca is not expected to survive the night.’
The night and the setting and even his own pain crystallized in a flash of loss. ‘There’s no chance they’re wrong?’
‘He was poisoned. By what, the doctors have no idea.’ Simeon shook his head. ‘Krys has just walked down to check on him. I am to call her the instant you awake.’
‘I want to go to him.’
‘Of course you do. The doctor has insisted that he check you over first, however.’ Simeon pressed the call button, then realized Jackson was pulling off the monitor cables and struggling to rise. ‘What are you doing?’
Jackson said, ‘Find me a wheelchair. And some clothes.’
‘My friend, I just told you, we must wait—’
‘There isn’t time. We have got to move now.’
Simeon rose, started for the door, then turned back and said, ‘At least tell me what it is that cannot wait for the dawn.’
Jackson tried to stand, but the world spun, and he was forced to sit back down. He hated the weakness. But he had to work around it. He had no choice. He asked, ‘Tonight is the full moon, correct?’
Simeon gave him a hard look, then checked his phone. ‘And if it is?’
‘In that case,’ Jackson replied, ‘we are going to try to save Luca’s life.’
FIFTY-FIVE
Krys arrived while Simeon was making arrangements. Jackson’s first question was about Bernard. Dead, she replied with evident satisfaction. All of the remaining gargoyles were rendered into dust by her blast. How, she had no idea.
Twenty-seven minutes later, they left the clinic. Simeon drove the ambulance with Jackson strapped into the passenger seat. Krys was seated in the back, across from the mobile stretcher holding Luca. Jackson wore surgical blues and a pair of rope-soled sandals Simeon had stolen from the doctors’ ready room. The sandals were half a size too small and pinched. Jackson merely added that discomfort to all the others. Climbing out of the wheelchair and into the ambulance had been a serious challenge. He had a plastic baggie holding a variety of pain meds in his pocket, but he had not yet taken anything. He needed to stay as sharp as possible for as long as he could.
Signing Luca out over the doctor’s dire warnings took as much time as obtaining a driverless ambulance. When the doctor tried to override them, Simeon replied that if the doctor insisted on keeping Luca there and the patient died, he would personally ensure the doctor was brought up on a charge of willful manslaughter.
The border station proved no difficulty. The French were only too happy to see them leave, and the Swiss saluted Simeon’s badge and waved them through. On the other side, Simeon said, ‘We are going to your residence? Truly?’
‘Fast as you can,’ Jackson replied. Waking Luca had been a trial. But the blind man had fastened upon Jackson’s words and used magic to recover, at least temporarily. Jackson asked, ‘Is Luca awake?’
‘I am,’ came the weak reply.
‘Hang in there.’
Simeon said, ‘You are, of course, aware that your house is a complete and utter wreck. Not to mention a crime scene.’
‘It doesn’t matter. What time is it?’
‘A quarter past ten,’ Krys replied.
Simeon demanded, ‘And just exactly why is the time so important?’
‘The bridge can only be formed on the blue moon and the one that follows. Luca, isn’t that what you said?’
‘Correct.’
Simeon used the rearview mirror to examine each face in turn, ‘Dare I ask what bridge you mean?’
‘It’s complicated,’ Jackson replied and was rewarded by what might have been a laugh from Luca. Weak. But still.
Simeon went on, ‘Just to be certain, you are drawing me further into a project that will undoubtedly require me to break even more laws of my country?’
‘A whole mess of them,’ Jackson replied.
‘On that one word we most certainly agree,’ Simeon said. ‘This is indeed a mess. One of Alpine proportions.’
The ambulance was top-heavy and swung harshly around corners. Jackson stifled a grunt as he was pressed against the door. ‘Think of it this way,’ Jackson said. ‘If I’m right, in a couple of hours, none of this will ever have happened.’
‘It will all just go away?’
‘Poof. Gone. Not even a cloud of smoke,’ Jackson replied.
‘I have your word on this?’
From his position on the stretcher, Luca said weakly, ‘And mine as well.’ He murmured something more that was lost to the rumble of a passing truck.
Simeon demanded, ‘What was that?’
Krys replied, ‘He said, once again the pupil instructs the master.’
‘Well, then’ – Simeon ground the gears – ‘I suppose that will have to do.’
FIFTY-SIX
As they turned on to the lakefront highway, Simeon said, ‘Explain to me why we are headed back to the crime scene.’
‘The obelisk,’ Jackson replied. ‘And the safe.’ Jackson did not mind tracking it through. Talking helped keep his discomfort at bay. ‘They were components of Bernard Bouchon’s earlier existence. Which means they should have disappeared with everything else.’
Simeon frowned at the night. ‘And yet they are still there because …’
‘The magic is stronger than time,’ Luca murmured, his voice somewhat stronger now.
‘So the obelisk and the cellar-safe, these are your objectives?’
‘No,’ Jackson replied. ‘We also need the scrolls.’
‘The ones Bouchon was after,’ Simeon said. ‘Which you do not have.’
‘Right.’
Luca chuckled softly. ‘Of course.’
Simeon glanced in the rearview mirror. ‘Krys, are you laughing as well?’
‘Not yet,’ she replied. ‘But I’m hoping.’
‘Bouchon built the house there,’ Jackson explained. ‘He planted the obelisk there. Because this—’
‘Of course!’ Krys exclaimed.
‘—Is the entrance to the Ancients’ lair,’ Jackson said. ‘Down through the centuries, each time the scrolls were rediscovered and used, they went back to the place where they were anchored.’
Luca coughed and then might have muttered, ‘Brilliant.’
Jackson went on, ‘Bouchon did not construct a safe. He built a portal. And he hid it by constructing a house on top of it.’
Luca laughed again – a wet sound, but welcome nonetheless. Jackson went on, ‘Luca told Commandant Barker that the spell scroll he read that night was for building the bridge to the island. He called it an Ancient’s method of opening the unseen portal. We assumed it was part of the time spell. We were wrong.’
Krys murmured, ‘Of course.’
‘And you?’ Simeon demanded. ‘You have located a different way into this mysterious portal?’
‘Let us hope so,’ Luca replied.
‘Obviously, my understanding anything is of little significance compared to this magnificent drama of yours.’ Simeon opened his door, rose from the ambulance, and remarked, ‘A fog is gathering over the lake.’
‘It’s not fog,’ Jackson said. ‘Hurry.’
FIFTY-SEVEN
The house was an utter ruin. The roof was smashed into giant cement flakes, all linked by a web of steel rods. No window remained intact. Thick shards of glass glittered in the ambulance’s headlights. The top two floors were essentially compressed into one. The central column rose from the wreckage like a square fist.
Krys emerged from the rear and opened Jackson’s door. Simeon came around and helped her ease Jackson from his seat. Between the loss of blood and the general battering he had received from the gargoyles, there was no way he could have made it on his own. His arms around their shoulders, he straightened slowly, testing each muscle and joint in turn. Simeon said, ‘We could leave you here—’
‘No,’ Jackson said. ‘I’m good. And I have to do this.’
From the rear of the ambulance, Luca murmured, ‘The forces are gathering.’
As they climbed what was left of the front stairs, Krys said, ‘One thing I don’t get.’
‘Just one?’ Simeon said from Jackson’s other side. ‘In that case, I lag so far behind I can scarcely see your dust.’
Krys said, ‘Neither the Peerless nor the Institute ever came after the scrolls. Why?’
Jackson timed his words to each tight exhale. ‘Our first visit to his home, Luca told us a Talent can only reach the island once. Bouchon had no chance to reshape his world another time. There was nothing to be gained by revealing what he knew to others. My guess is that knowledge of the scrolls died with him.’
The ceiling was bowed down like a concrete and steel hammock, forcing them to walk at a crouch. Krys said, ‘And the Peerless attacked him now because …’
‘They tracked his magic. Multiple times.’ Jackson let them guide him down the rubble-strewn steps. ‘They attacked him in the hospital because they assumed he would be vulnerable. When that failed, they struck at the car because they knew only a former Peerless could set up their special wards. Then they discovered he was on Sardinia at the same time as their failed attack on the Institute. And they decided it was time to go on the offensive, regardless of the cost.’
Thankfully, a segment of each stair remained intact. As they threaded their way, Simeon said, ‘I suppose now would be a good time to hear why it is so important to come here at all.’
‘This takes us back to our first visit.’
‘The murders that never happened.’
‘Right. After Luca ordered you and your men away, we came down here. While Luca was reading the scroll’s shadow, I saw the vault become ringed by fire. Luca told me to forget the vault. He said it wasn’t important. He was wrong.’
‘So the vault …’
‘Is the portal,’ Jackson replied. ‘It’s why the house was built here. And my guess is that the obelisk forms part of the key to gain entry.’
The basement foyer was a rubble field. The office was missing its ceiling. The carpeted rear wall was gone. From the doorway, they looked straight into the vault. Which remained untouched.
Jackson took a step away from the others. He could not hold himself straight, for to do so pinched the neck and shoulder muscles that had been lacerated by the gargoyles. As he fashioned his wand, Jackson tried to push aside his injuries and all the lingering doubts. For Luca’s sake, he had to succeed.
Simeon gasped, ‘Is that a—’
Krys replied, ‘Hush now.’
Jackson touched the wand to his forehead.
A few moments was all he required. He released his hold on the wand and turned around. Stricken by far more than his physical pain.
Krys saw the change. ‘Jackson?’
His breath sounded ragged in his own ears. When he was ready, he met his partner’s gaze and said, ‘I know what we have to do.’
What was more, he knew why.
FIFTY-EIGHT
Jackson limped into the vault and retrieved the little golden plate. When he stepped back out, he asked Simeon, ‘Are you willing to play a role in this?’
Simeon’s gaze swiveled back and forth between Jackson’s face and the hand no longer holding the wand. ‘What do you call everything I’ve done up to now?’
Krys said, ‘He means, are you willing to take part in a magical event?’
Simeon wrestled momentarily, then decided, ‘I have walked to the cliff’s edge; I might as well jump.’
Jackson handed Simeon the plate and said, ‘Hold this steady.’ When Simeon took a firm grip, Jackson said, ‘Krys?’
The light from her ring filled the ruined chamber. ‘Ready.’
Jackson held out his wand. ‘On my count. One, two …’
The fire began to encircle the vault’s portal the instant they touched the plate.
The little golden plate now gleamed like a beacon, illuminating the stairs that flowed down into impenetrable shadows. Jackson hobbled over to where he could peer down and down and further still. There was no way he could make it down, much less climb back out.
Krys moved up beside him and asked, ‘How far do they descend?’
Simeon responded from Jackson’s other side, ‘Deep as the caverns in our treasure rooms, I suspect.’
‘I’ll go,’ Krys said.
Simeon scoffed, ‘Don’t be absurd. With your ribs, you would never climb back out.’ He peered into the shadows. ‘So this is what the other side of the cliff’s edge looks like.’
But at that moment, Jackson realized the climb would not be necessary. ‘Step back,’ he said.
As they did so, the first figure entered the room.
The little being only stood a few inches taller than Jackson’s knee. As before, the streaming lights silhouetted its small form. The figure bore itself with intense dignity. Of that, Jackson was certain.
Then a second figure appeared behind the first. And this one held three scrolls.
Jackson took the plate from Simeon’s limp fingers and grunted with the effort required to bend down and set it on the rubble before the being.
The two figures stood there, observing him and making no move.
Jackson wished there was some note of triumph to this moment. Knowing that the time had come to relinquish his treasure and let it return to the holding place. But all he felt was a loss so deep it overwhelmed his body’s multiple agonies.
He held up the wand. He stared at its gleaming silver length.
Krys moaned, ‘Jackson. No.’
The treasures are not ours, he wanted to say, but just then he could not utter the words.
Bending down and handing the figure his wand was the hardest thing Jackson had ever done.
Behind him, Krys moaned.
He straightened slowly, utterly bereft. He feared he would go through the rest of his days feeling like a cripple.
The first figure made the wand disappear, then the two of them turned and looked at Krys.
Dripping tears, Krys stepped up and wrested the ring from her finger.
The second figure walked forward and set the scrolls at Jackson’s feet.
FIFTY-NINE
Krys was still struggling for composure when they made it back to the forecourt. Jackson did not mind. In fact, he found a meager comfort in how at least one of them honored their loss in this fashion.
When Simeon opened the ambulance’s rear doors, Luca neither moved nor gave any sign of life.
Krys exclaimed, ‘Don’t tell me he’s dead.’
‘Still here,’ Luca murmured. ‘Barely.’
FIFTY-FOUR
Jackson came to momentarily when they loaded him on to the ambulance. He was drawn from the black depths by Krys, strident even when wounded. She insisted on being allowed to journey in his vehicle. Then the medic inserted a needle into Jackson’s arm and flooded his system with an icy salve. As he drifted away that second time, Jackson realized he was in a lot of pain.
Awareness came and went in fleeting snatches. Jackson could not be certain he woke at all. Perhaps his dreams merely knitted together in some coherent fashion. Twice he thought he heard Krys and Simeon talking, and he wondered why Luca did not respond. The blind man’s absence troubled him, though he could not piece together a reason.
He woke for certain when a bright light shone directly into his face and a coldly officious voice demanded in French, ‘This one also has no papers?’
‘Destroyed in the assault on his home,’ he heard Simeon reply. ‘A tragedy.’
‘Tragic. Yes. Even more so if they bring their danger and destruction into France.’
‘Which is why I accompany them,’ Simeon replied. ‘To assure you this is not the case.’
‘Forgive me for questioning your judgment, Monsieur—’
‘Detective.’
‘But you are Swiss, and this is France, yes? And we have been alerted to the battle on the lake’s southern rim. What is more, we saw it. Here. In Divonne. The attack lit up our sky.’
But Simeon kept his cool. ‘The former despot of Benin resides two houses east of Monsieur Burnett’s former residence. The citizens of Benin, as you are no doubt aware, were cruelly oppressed. The International Courts of Justice issued an arrest warrant for this former ruler, on the grounds that he used outlawed magic on his own populace.’
‘And now he whiles away his days on the shores of Lake Geneva,’ the customs officer sneered.
‘Indeed so. Another tragedy. But we were speaking of these innocent victims. My country has no doctors who have specialized in the healing of magical wounds. The Divonne Clinic has a worldwide reputation—’
‘Yes, yes, I am well aware of all this.’
‘And the clinic has alerted you to our arrival, no? So if you will be so kind as to stamp my papers and lift your barrier, we will endeavor to save these lives while there is still time.’
When Jackson next awoke, he lay in a hospital bed. What he could see of the room showed expensive furnishings. A spray of orchids stood in a stylish vase on the table to his right. Simeon sat in a leather chair, reading from a file bearing the official Swiss seal. The drapes to his window were pulled open, revealing a darkened window. Jackson licked dry lips and asked, ‘What time is it?’
‘A quarter past nine.’ Simeon held the cup while Jackson sucked on the straw, then set it down and said, ‘Your partner’s burns were treated and her ribs were taped. She was here until a moment ago. She claims you saved her life, by the way. How are you, my friend?’
‘Sore.’
‘Then you have come to the right place. I am assured by the doctors that their assorted pain remedies are unrivaled. Shall I call someone?’
‘Later.’
‘I have been told you will make a full recovery. But you lost a considerable amount of blood, so you will need to take it easy—’
‘You might as well say it.’ When Simeon did not reply, Jackson pressed, ‘You’re not sitting here just to make sure I get all the meds I want.’
Simeon made a process of closing the file. ‘Luca is not expected to survive the night.’
The night and the setting and even his own pain crystallized in a flash of loss. ‘There’s no chance they’re wrong?’
‘He was poisoned. By what, the doctors have no idea.’ Simeon shook his head. ‘Krys has just walked down to check on him. I am to call her the instant you awake.’
‘I want to go to him.’
‘Of course you do. The doctor has insisted that he check you over first, however.’ Simeon pressed the call button, then realized Jackson was pulling off the monitor cables and struggling to rise. ‘What are you doing?’
Jackson said, ‘Find me a wheelchair. And some clothes.’
‘My friend, I just told you, we must wait—’
‘There isn’t time. We have got to move now.’
Simeon rose, started for the door, then turned back and said, ‘At least tell me what it is that cannot wait for the dawn.’
Jackson tried to stand, but the world spun, and he was forced to sit back down. He hated the weakness. But he had to work around it. He had no choice. He asked, ‘Tonight is the full moon, correct?’
Simeon gave him a hard look, then checked his phone. ‘And if it is?’
‘In that case,’ Jackson replied, ‘we are going to try to save Luca’s life.’
FIFTY-FIVE
Krys arrived while Simeon was making arrangements. Jackson’s first question was about Bernard. Dead, she replied with evident satisfaction. All of the remaining gargoyles were rendered into dust by her blast. How, she had no idea.
Twenty-seven minutes later, they left the clinic. Simeon drove the ambulance with Jackson strapped into the passenger seat. Krys was seated in the back, across from the mobile stretcher holding Luca. Jackson wore surgical blues and a pair of rope-soled sandals Simeon had stolen from the doctors’ ready room. The sandals were half a size too small and pinched. Jackson merely added that discomfort to all the others. Climbing out of the wheelchair and into the ambulance had been a serious challenge. He had a plastic baggie holding a variety of pain meds in his pocket, but he had not yet taken anything. He needed to stay as sharp as possible for as long as he could.
Signing Luca out over the doctor’s dire warnings took as much time as obtaining a driverless ambulance. When the doctor tried to override them, Simeon replied that if the doctor insisted on keeping Luca there and the patient died, he would personally ensure the doctor was brought up on a charge of willful manslaughter.
The border station proved no difficulty. The French were only too happy to see them leave, and the Swiss saluted Simeon’s badge and waved them through. On the other side, Simeon said, ‘We are going to your residence? Truly?’
‘Fast as you can,’ Jackson replied. Waking Luca had been a trial. But the blind man had fastened upon Jackson’s words and used magic to recover, at least temporarily. Jackson asked, ‘Is Luca awake?’
‘I am,’ came the weak reply.
‘Hang in there.’
Simeon said, ‘You are, of course, aware that your house is a complete and utter wreck. Not to mention a crime scene.’
‘It doesn’t matter. What time is it?’
‘A quarter past ten,’ Krys replied.
Simeon demanded, ‘And just exactly why is the time so important?’
‘The bridge can only be formed on the blue moon and the one that follows. Luca, isn’t that what you said?’
‘Correct.’
Simeon used the rearview mirror to examine each face in turn, ‘Dare I ask what bridge you mean?’
‘It’s complicated,’ Jackson replied and was rewarded by what might have been a laugh from Luca. Weak. But still.
Simeon went on, ‘Just to be certain, you are drawing me further into a project that will undoubtedly require me to break even more laws of my country?’
‘A whole mess of them,’ Jackson replied.
‘On that one word we most certainly agree,’ Simeon said. ‘This is indeed a mess. One of Alpine proportions.’
The ambulance was top-heavy and swung harshly around corners. Jackson stifled a grunt as he was pressed against the door. ‘Think of it this way,’ Jackson said. ‘If I’m right, in a couple of hours, none of this will ever have happened.’
‘It will all just go away?’
‘Poof. Gone. Not even a cloud of smoke,’ Jackson replied.
‘I have your word on this?’
From his position on the stretcher, Luca said weakly, ‘And mine as well.’ He murmured something more that was lost to the rumble of a passing truck.
Simeon demanded, ‘What was that?’
Krys replied, ‘He said, once again the pupil instructs the master.’
‘Well, then’ – Simeon ground the gears – ‘I suppose that will have to do.’
FIFTY-SIX
As they turned on to the lakefront highway, Simeon said, ‘Explain to me why we are headed back to the crime scene.’
‘The obelisk,’ Jackson replied. ‘And the safe.’ Jackson did not mind tracking it through. Talking helped keep his discomfort at bay. ‘They were components of Bernard Bouchon’s earlier existence. Which means they should have disappeared with everything else.’
Simeon frowned at the night. ‘And yet they are still there because …’
‘The magic is stronger than time,’ Luca murmured, his voice somewhat stronger now.
‘So the obelisk and the cellar-safe, these are your objectives?’
‘No,’ Jackson replied. ‘We also need the scrolls.’
‘The ones Bouchon was after,’ Simeon said. ‘Which you do not have.’
‘Right.’
Luca chuckled softly. ‘Of course.’
Simeon glanced in the rearview mirror. ‘Krys, are you laughing as well?’
‘Not yet,’ she replied. ‘But I’m hoping.’
‘Bouchon built the house there,’ Jackson explained. ‘He planted the obelisk there. Because this—’
‘Of course!’ Krys exclaimed.
‘—Is the entrance to the Ancients’ lair,’ Jackson said. ‘Down through the centuries, each time the scrolls were rediscovered and used, they went back to the place where they were anchored.’
Luca coughed and then might have muttered, ‘Brilliant.’
Jackson went on, ‘Bouchon did not construct a safe. He built a portal. And he hid it by constructing a house on top of it.’
Luca laughed again – a wet sound, but welcome nonetheless. Jackson went on, ‘Luca told Commandant Barker that the spell scroll he read that night was for building the bridge to the island. He called it an Ancient’s method of opening the unseen portal. We assumed it was part of the time spell. We were wrong.’
Krys murmured, ‘Of course.’
‘And you?’ Simeon demanded. ‘You have located a different way into this mysterious portal?’
‘Let us hope so,’ Luca replied.
‘Obviously, my understanding anything is of little significance compared to this magnificent drama of yours.’ Simeon opened his door, rose from the ambulance, and remarked, ‘A fog is gathering over the lake.’
‘It’s not fog,’ Jackson said. ‘Hurry.’
FIFTY-SEVEN
The house was an utter ruin. The roof was smashed into giant cement flakes, all linked by a web of steel rods. No window remained intact. Thick shards of glass glittered in the ambulance’s headlights. The top two floors were essentially compressed into one. The central column rose from the wreckage like a square fist.
Krys emerged from the rear and opened Jackson’s door. Simeon came around and helped her ease Jackson from his seat. Between the loss of blood and the general battering he had received from the gargoyles, there was no way he could have made it on his own. His arms around their shoulders, he straightened slowly, testing each muscle and joint in turn. Simeon said, ‘We could leave you here—’
‘No,’ Jackson said. ‘I’m good. And I have to do this.’
From the rear of the ambulance, Luca murmured, ‘The forces are gathering.’
As they climbed what was left of the front stairs, Krys said, ‘One thing I don’t get.’
‘Just one?’ Simeon said from Jackson’s other side. ‘In that case, I lag so far behind I can scarcely see your dust.’
Krys said, ‘Neither the Peerless nor the Institute ever came after the scrolls. Why?’
Jackson timed his words to each tight exhale. ‘Our first visit to his home, Luca told us a Talent can only reach the island once. Bouchon had no chance to reshape his world another time. There was nothing to be gained by revealing what he knew to others. My guess is that knowledge of the scrolls died with him.’
The ceiling was bowed down like a concrete and steel hammock, forcing them to walk at a crouch. Krys said, ‘And the Peerless attacked him now because …’
‘They tracked his magic. Multiple times.’ Jackson let them guide him down the rubble-strewn steps. ‘They attacked him in the hospital because they assumed he would be vulnerable. When that failed, they struck at the car because they knew only a former Peerless could set up their special wards. Then they discovered he was on Sardinia at the same time as their failed attack on the Institute. And they decided it was time to go on the offensive, regardless of the cost.’
Thankfully, a segment of each stair remained intact. As they threaded their way, Simeon said, ‘I suppose now would be a good time to hear why it is so important to come here at all.’
‘This takes us back to our first visit.’
‘The murders that never happened.’
‘Right. After Luca ordered you and your men away, we came down here. While Luca was reading the scroll’s shadow, I saw the vault become ringed by fire. Luca told me to forget the vault. He said it wasn’t important. He was wrong.’
‘So the vault …’
‘Is the portal,’ Jackson replied. ‘It’s why the house was built here. And my guess is that the obelisk forms part of the key to gain entry.’
The basement foyer was a rubble field. The office was missing its ceiling. The carpeted rear wall was gone. From the doorway, they looked straight into the vault. Which remained untouched.
Jackson took a step away from the others. He could not hold himself straight, for to do so pinched the neck and shoulder muscles that had been lacerated by the gargoyles. As he fashioned his wand, Jackson tried to push aside his injuries and all the lingering doubts. For Luca’s sake, he had to succeed.
Simeon gasped, ‘Is that a—’
Krys replied, ‘Hush now.’
Jackson touched the wand to his forehead.
A few moments was all he required. He released his hold on the wand and turned around. Stricken by far more than his physical pain.
Krys saw the change. ‘Jackson?’
His breath sounded ragged in his own ears. When he was ready, he met his partner’s gaze and said, ‘I know what we have to do.’
What was more, he knew why.
FIFTY-EIGHT
Jackson limped into the vault and retrieved the little golden plate. When he stepped back out, he asked Simeon, ‘Are you willing to play a role in this?’
Simeon’s gaze swiveled back and forth between Jackson’s face and the hand no longer holding the wand. ‘What do you call everything I’ve done up to now?’
Krys said, ‘He means, are you willing to take part in a magical event?’
Simeon wrestled momentarily, then decided, ‘I have walked to the cliff’s edge; I might as well jump.’
Jackson handed Simeon the plate and said, ‘Hold this steady.’ When Simeon took a firm grip, Jackson said, ‘Krys?’
The light from her ring filled the ruined chamber. ‘Ready.’
Jackson held out his wand. ‘On my count. One, two …’
The fire began to encircle the vault’s portal the instant they touched the plate.
The little golden plate now gleamed like a beacon, illuminating the stairs that flowed down into impenetrable shadows. Jackson hobbled over to where he could peer down and down and further still. There was no way he could make it down, much less climb back out.
Krys moved up beside him and asked, ‘How far do they descend?’
Simeon responded from Jackson’s other side, ‘Deep as the caverns in our treasure rooms, I suspect.’
‘I’ll go,’ Krys said.
Simeon scoffed, ‘Don’t be absurd. With your ribs, you would never climb back out.’ He peered into the shadows. ‘So this is what the other side of the cliff’s edge looks like.’
But at that moment, Jackson realized the climb would not be necessary. ‘Step back,’ he said.
As they did so, the first figure entered the room.
The little being only stood a few inches taller than Jackson’s knee. As before, the streaming lights silhouetted its small form. The figure bore itself with intense dignity. Of that, Jackson was certain.
Then a second figure appeared behind the first. And this one held three scrolls.
Jackson took the plate from Simeon’s limp fingers and grunted with the effort required to bend down and set it on the rubble before the being.
The two figures stood there, observing him and making no move.
Jackson wished there was some note of triumph to this moment. Knowing that the time had come to relinquish his treasure and let it return to the holding place. But all he felt was a loss so deep it overwhelmed his body’s multiple agonies.
He held up the wand. He stared at its gleaming silver length.
Krys moaned, ‘Jackson. No.’
The treasures are not ours, he wanted to say, but just then he could not utter the words.
Bending down and handing the figure his wand was the hardest thing Jackson had ever done.
Behind him, Krys moaned.
He straightened slowly, utterly bereft. He feared he would go through the rest of his days feeling like a cripple.
The first figure made the wand disappear, then the two of them turned and looked at Krys.
Dripping tears, Krys stepped up and wrested the ring from her finger.
The second figure walked forward and set the scrolls at Jackson’s feet.
FIFTY-NINE
Krys was still struggling for composure when they made it back to the forecourt. Jackson did not mind. In fact, he found a meager comfort in how at least one of them honored their loss in this fashion.
When Simeon opened the ambulance’s rear doors, Luca neither moved nor gave any sign of life.
Krys exclaimed, ‘Don’t tell me he’s dead.’
‘Still here,’ Luca murmured. ‘Barely.’
